Vote: Top UH football moments in Robertson Stadium history

First, thanks for all the stories of your favorite UH football moments in Robertson Stadium history. I will be contacting some of you in the near future for a story on the final season of the stadium.

I have narrowed the list (sorry the great concerts didn’t make it) and provided some details and links. Please vote for your favorite – and if there is a big one that should be on the list feel free to cast a write-in vote in the comment section.

Each week during the season we will do a countdown of the reader’s picks for the top moments in the stadium’s history. The countdown will begin with the game day preview for the Sept. 1 opener against Texas State.

Vote below.

Sept. 21, 1946: Cougars play inaugural game at stadium
Then known as Houston Public School Stadium, the University of Houston played its inaugural game at the venue – a 13-7 loss to Southwestern Louisiana. The Cougars’ first win at the stadium would come three weeks later, 34-0 over Texas A&I. The Cougars would play there through 1950 before moving games to newly-constructed Rice Stadium.

Nov. 9, 1996: UH beats No. 20 Southern Miss 56-49 in overtime
Antowain Smith scored six touchdowns, including a 12-yard run in overtime, as the Cougars kept their hopes alive of claiming a share of the Conference USA title. The following week UH beat Louisville to claim the league’s spot in the Liberty Bowl.

Nov. 9, 2002: Reynolds sets single-game rushing mark
Joffrey Reynolds rushed for a school-record 300 yards in the Cougars’ 54-48 triple-overtime loss to East Carolina. Reynolds’ rushing total broke the previous mark of 282, set by Paul Gipson against Tulsa in 1968.

Oct. 13, 2007: Avery, Alridge make history
Rice got a double dose as Donnie Avery set a Conference USA record with 346 receiving yards and Anthony Alridge rushed for 205 yards and four touchdowns in a 56-48 loss to the Cougars. It was the first time in major college history that teammates had 300-plus receiving yards and 200-plus rushing yards in the same game.

Sept. 26, 2009: UH rallies for thrilling win over Texas Tech
Case Keenum scored on a quarterback draw with 49 seconds left, giving the No. 17 Cougars a 29-28 victory against Texas Tech. The Cougars’ game-winning drive covered 16 plays and 95 yards – including a key fourth-down catch by Patrick Edwards – to erase a 28-23 deficit. The win came a week after the Cougars upset No. 5 Oklahoma State on the road and marked the first time UH was ranked since 1991.

Oct. 31, 2009: No. 15 Houston survives Southern Miss 50-43
Case Keenum threw for a career-high 559 yards, the most ever at Robertson Stadium, and five touchdowns, the last a 21-yarder to Patrick Edwards with 21 seconds remaining, as No. 15 Houston escaped with a 50-43 over Southern Miss. The Cougars led 43-29 with less than seven minutes remaining before Southern Miss rallied to tie the game with 57 seconds left.

Oct. 22, 2011: Case Keenum breaks FBS total offense record
With a 30-yard pass to Justin Johnson in the first quarter against Marshall, quarterback Case Keenum became the Football Bowl Subdivision’s career leader in total offense. He broke the record 16,910 yards set by Hawaii’s Timmy Chang from 2000-04.

Oct. 29, 2011: Keenum throws nine TDs in rout of rival Rice
Case Keenum threw for nine touchdowns as the No. 18 Cougars remained perfect with a 73-34 rout of the Owls. The nine touchdowns gave him 139 for his career, passing Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell’s FBS record 134. Patrick Edwards caught five of the touchdown passes and finished with 318 yards receiving, and Tyron Carrier tied the NCAA career record for career kickoff returns for touchdowns by taking the opening kickoff 100 yards.